Modelling and Control of Hydraulic and Electrical Actuation Systems for Aerospace Systems

Modelling and analysis of actuation system is often a prerequisite for robotics design and control. The premise of this work involves mathematical modelling and control system design of actuation systems for decentralized control systems. Two types of actuation systems for two varying applications are considered for the scope of this research. Hydraulic actuation modelling is performed in a modular and independent approach for a robotic application. The sample mechanism consists of a Winglet Cant mechanism with two geometrically different parallel kinematic chains coupled together to the same end-effector actuated using hydraulic actuators. The rotation of the end-effector is its single degree of freedom of motion. The hydraulic modelling is performed using linear modelling for the two actuators responsible for providing the motion for the morphing winglet and non-linear modelling for the dynamic loading system responsible for simulating the load on the winglet in-motion to ensure the structural integrity of the mechanism. Control schemes are proposed for each actuation system independently based on the modelled system characteristics. Through experimentation, the validation of the modelled systems and control scheme is performed. Electrical actuation control is addressed for a cabin comfort application with focus on integration of AI-based vision system for dual axis gimbal motion. With the goal of moving target active noise control, a novel control strategy for electrically actuated gimbal speaker system using sequential control is presented.